THE ROLE OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN EGYPT’S POLITICAL TRANSITION: A MIRAGE

Political parties are indispensable for political transformation. Fluidity, uncertainty and unpredictability which accompany the transformation process make it extremely difficult for the process to succeed. That's why political parties, as a political tool, are considered an essential political popular channel to facilitate and accelerate the process. However, in post revolution Egypt, this wasn't the case. This research argues that although Egyptian political Parties, here and after called “EPP” found the appropriate political atmosphere after the 25th of January revolution, they didn't assume their expected roles in the democratic transformation process. It discusses the main causes behind the political inefficiency of the EPP using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches to explain. Moreover, it presents some of the suggested recommendations for the EPP to enhance their efficiency and hence participate in accelerate the transformation process.